Finally June 1st is here. Striped bass fishing from the Calhoun Street Bridge down to the Salem River is now open. It's been closed to target them to protect the spawning bass. Not sure if those closed months, April 1st to June 1st really accomplishes that. April, yes. May, not so much, in my opinion.
since coming back from the Upper Delaware it's been everything but fishing. Another funeral on Friday deep in Long Island had us rushing back to catch the tail end of senior prom pictures for Erin. Below, that's her and her girlfriend ready for the big night out. Then it was off to Cape May for a short
stay. There was no fishing, not because of the cold weather and honking winds, I just needed a break. Plus we had some finishing up to do getting the place ready for the summer. With Theresa's new schedule at work it';s all about the weekends, so you can't let any go to waste. That place is in such a
great location and is a great hang. We are lucky to have stumbled upon this place. When we stopped for a bite to eat I was thumbing through the Shore Guide and found the below. Without New Jersey signing on to the new regs put out, or suggested by, the ASMFC, the guide had the new 28-31" slot listed. I am
sure that pissed a lot of people off when they saw it. One fun thing was overhearing a guy at the checkout counter at Lowe's. I knew the voice as soon as I heard it. It was Nesmond, who I had met in 2010 as we fly fished the 8th Avenue jetty in Asbury Park together. I knew he was from down here as
he worked for years at the Cape May Ferry and has since retired but still helps out from time to time. Below is one of the pics I made of him, and this one made the back of my old business cards. When we
got back home I was eager to check out the river. It's just not the same, like it is in the spring. The cormorants are gone. The water looks warm. The river is way down with the only time there's water is on the flood tide. The current flows are just over 4,000 cfs. It's just a continuation of what we found on
the Upper Delaware last week. I checked the Delaware River at Montague which is at 2130. That's above the target of 1,750 where they have to release water into the system. The planned releases from the Cannonsville didn't happen and that cfs is stuck at 525 with 56 degree water temps.
Last week Leif and I talked about life. I told him about my recent run of funerals. It was like one per week for the last five weeks, and this week is no exception. I have another on Tuesday. And these funerals aren't just the passing of older folks, they have been 67, 98, 50, 98 and 92, 88, and 53. They say things come in threes, well so much for that. As we age, so do the people connected to our lives. The news always strikes a nerve especially when you think of your own mortality. One diagnosis or accident away from any of us being called home.
And while not in all anything that matters, Leif and I talked about fishing. How many more springs do we have on the Upper Delaware. How many more spring striped bass runs will I have on the Delaware? How many more Raritan Bay springs? And then there's the fall migration. We figured 10 to 15 if we're lucky. And just because you're alive doesn't mean you'll be able to still fly fish and get it done.
Life is so precious. Health is wealth for sure. You can't leave with it so you might as well enjoy and count the blessings of waking up every single day. Stay in touch with your loved ones. Tell them you love them until they tell you to stop. And most importantly, don't sweat the small stuff. There's always someone out there that has it a hell of alot worse than you or I do.